Bracket



March 7, 1967 A. L. NEGRI 3,307,710

BRACKET Filed March 31, 1965 INVENTOR. ANNA L. NEGF?! ATTORNEYS United States Patent This invention relates to an improved arrangement for drip drying wet clothes and particularly concerns a detachable bracket for use in upholding the same.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved arrangement for the drip drying of wet clothes over a tub, such as in a bathroom, such that the adjacent floor surface is maintained in a dry and safe condition.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bracket which may be detachably secured to conventional or standard wall mounted bathroom hardware without the use of tools and without damaging or otherwise having to prepare the surface of the hardware in order to mount the bracket.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a bracket of the type described which is of pleasing appearance, easy to use, and is manufactured at low cost.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which is exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth, and the scope of the invention is indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a portion of a bathroom showing the use of brackets embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of one embodiment of a bracket incorporated in the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross section view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an isometric view, partly exploded, of another embodiment of a bracket incorporated in the present invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a combination bath tub and shower unit is shown in FIG. 1 having the usual bathroom hardware or support fixtures, such as the shower cunrtain rod 10, the towel bar 12 and a shower head secured to a pipe 14, extending generally horizontally outwardly from. a bathroom wall above the bottom of a bath tub 16, it being understood that there is a drain in the bottom of the bath tub 16.

In order to support wet clothes for drip drying and yet maintain the bathroom floor 18 safe from messy pools of water, an extension bracket of the cantilever type is incorporated in the present invention for supporting a clothes hanger 20 having the wet clothes suspended thereon such that water particles will fall directly into the bottom of the bath tub 16.

Considering first that form of the bracket illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, an elongated arm 24 is fixed at one end to a sleeve 26. To provide low cost manufacture, the bracket is designed entirely as an integral unit and is formed of a suitable high Strength, resilient material such as plastic or sheet metal, for example, shaped to a desired form. More specifically, the arm 24 is of generally arcuate cross section with a convexly curved upper surface providing a firm bearing support for the book of a clothes hanger, and the fixed end of the arm 24 is smoothly contoured in continuation with an upper arcuate segment of the sleeve 26. That is, the bracket is a unitary structure with the arm 24 axially extending from the top of the sleeve 26, the arm 24 terminating at its free end in an "ice upwardly bent hook or flange 28 to provide a positive stop for a clothes hanger.

The lower portion of sleeve 26 is split lengthwise from end-to-end by a bottom slot and has suitably apertured flanges 30 and 32 depending from opposite sides of the slot. The sleeve 26 is thus of generally C-shaped cross section which is open at the bottom to adjustably fit over support fixtures of various size, such as the shower head pipe 14, with the depending flanges 30 and 32 being detachably clamped by a bolt and nut or other suitable fastener thereby to position the bracket with the shank of the arm 24 resting on and supported by the pipe 14 and the free end projecting over the bottom of the bath tub 16. The C-shaped sleeve 26 is sufliciently flexible in a radial direction to permit the flanges 30 and 32 to move outwardly when the bracket is being placed on or removed from a pipe or rod thus facilitating installation and disassembly radially of the support.

It is desirable that the bracket is firmly secured in position once the flanges 30 and 32 are clamped together. Accordingly, the inside surface of the sleeve 26 is preferably lined with a gasket 34 of a suitable resilient material having a relatively high coeflicient of friction such as rubber or cloth or like padding material which, in addition to being slip resistant, also acts as a cushion for the support fixture to prevent its being scratched or otherwise damaged by the gripping engagement of the sleeve 26.

Thus, to drip dry wet clothes, the clothes hanger on which they are suspended is merely placed on the arm 24, and the water which drops from the clothes falls directly into the bath tub and is drained away to leave the floor 18 clean and dry.

In the embodiment of the bracket illustrated in FIG. 4, the same numerals with the prefix 1 have been utilized to identify like parts. In general, the arm 124 and sleeve 126 are shaped similarly to the corresponding parts previously described. However, in the second embodiment it will be noted that the elongated arm 124 horizontally extends sideways at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve 126, the shank of the arm 124 extending axially outwardly a short distance from the sleeve 126 and engageable with a pipe or rod for support. This bracket is particularly suited to be mounted on the shower curtain rod 10 or the towel bar 12 which are generally horizontally disposed above the bath tub 16 in line with its edge whereby the arm 124 projects in fixed overhanging relationship with the bottom of the bath tub to provide the advantages noted above, the arm 124 terminating in an upwardly bent flange 128 at the free end of the arm as described above in connection with the first embodiment. As in the previous embodiment, sleeve 126 is detachably mountable on the support fixture with the flanges 130 and 132 being suitably apertured as at 136 for receiving the machine bolt 138 which is secured at its threaded end by wing nut 140 to firmly clamp the bracket 1n position.

When assembled, the described bracket is held in place with suflicient strength and rigidity to transmit the weight of the wet clothes to the support fixture without failure under ordinary conditions. Even though the free end of the arm of the bracket may be positioned slightly below its fixed end, the upwardly bent flange prevents the clothes hanger from falling ofl the bracket. In addition to having an attractive and pleasing appearance and being economical to produce, the bracket is quickly and easily installed and removed so as to be useful while traveling as well as in the home.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure abovedescribed will become readily apparent without departure from the spirt and scope of the invention, the scope of which defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A bracket for drip drying wet clothes usable with a bath unit having a bottom with a drain and a support fixture above the bottom of the bath unit, the bracket comprising a unitary body formed of a single piece of sheet material having a sleeve of generally C-shaped cross section split lengthwise by a bottom slot with depending flanges on opposite sides of the slot, the sleeve being radially flexible to facilitate its installation on a fixture and removal therefrom, and a cantilever arm horizontally extending outwardly from the sleeve in a plane generally parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof, the arrnhaving a fixed end contiguous and coextensive with an upper end portion of the sleeve, the fixed end of the arm being adapted to overlie a fixture and provide bearing support for the bracket, the arm having an opposite free end with an upwardly bent flange, and a fastener engageable with the depending flanges of the sleeve for detachably clamping the sleeve to a fixture in fixed overhanging relation 4!- to a bottom of a bath unit for suspending wet clothes to drip into the same.

2. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the cantilever arm is directed axially outwardly from the sleeve.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,537,772 5/1925 Hitzler 248286 1,865,757 7/1932 Honsowetz 211172 2,191,782 2/1940 Valarie 2483 16.5 2,941,671 6/1960 Lewis et a1. 21186 3,005,614 10/1961 Daniell 248-230 3,113,599 12/1963 Trotter 141392 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRES, Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner, 

1. A BRACKET FOR DRIP DRYING WET CLOTHES USABLE WITH A BATH UNIT HAVING A BOTTOM WITH A DRAIN AND A SUPPORT FIXTURE ABOVE THE BOTTOM OF THE BATH UNIT, THE BRACKET COMPRISING A UNITARY BODY FORMED OF A SINGLE PIECE OF SHEET MATERIAL HAVING A SLEEVE OF GENERALLY C-SHAPED CROSS SECTION SPLIT LENGTHWISE BY A BOTTOM SLOT WITH DEPENDING FLANGES ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SLOT, THE SLEEVE BEING RADIALLY FLEXIBLE TO FACILITATE ITS INSTALLATION ON A FIXTURE AND REMOVAL THEREFROM, AND A CANTILEVER ARM HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE SLEEVE IN A PLANE GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS THEREOF, THE ARM HAVING A FIXED END CONTIGUOUS AND COEXTENSIVE WITH AN UPPER END PORTION OF THE SLEEVE, THE FIXED END OF THE ARM BEING ADAPTED TO OVERLIE A FIXTURE AND PROVIDE BEARING SUPPORT FOR THE BRACKET, THE ARM HAVING AN OPPOSITE FREE END WITH AN UPWARDLY BENT FLANGE, AND A FASTENER ENGAGEABLE WITH THE DEPENDING FLANGES OF THE SLEEVE FOR DETACHABLY CLAMPING THE SLEEVE TO A FIXTURE IN FIXED OVERHANGING RELATION TO A BOTTOM OF A BATH UNIT FOR SUSPENDING WET CLOTHES TO DRIP INTO THE SAME. 